I Have Definitive Proof that MPG is Mostly Based on Driver (funny story too)

That's quite cool

Wouldn't his driving be mostly in town which might explain his high mpg number? I'd like to know as I'm not doing much better than you and I'd like an explanation that puts me in the clear as being the cause for the (relatively) poor mpg I am getting...

 

i don't think i could force my mpg down to 40, but i haven't tried.

 

I firmly believe that, but people will not believe you when you tell them that. LOL.

I had imagined going for a drive when you were here to show you the three techniques that, after taking care of any mechanical issues, I use that have, for me, made the biggest difference to fuel economy. Going from 4.8 - 5.2 l/100 km to 4.4 - 4.8 l/100 km ([US: 49 - 45 mpg to 53 - 49 mpg] [UK: 58 - 54 mpg to 64 - 58 mpg]) I have the occasional tanks at 4.1 l/100 km ([US 57 mpg] [UK: 69 mpg])

The three techniques are:

1. Ensure your car is in stage 4 (of the stages hybrid warm up) See my signature for a link.
   
2. Anticipate stops - traffic lights/roundabouts etc - start slowing from 5-600 m (546-656 yds) out, use brakes lightly to increase current into the HV battery (same going down hills - not a thing in De Nederlands though). Even better if you can anticipate a red light turning green;
3. Pulse and Glide. This is very effective in towns/cities as most people cannot maintain a constant speed - use this to your advantage;

Of the mechanical things:

• I ensure I use the lightest oil spec'ed (full synthetic API SG/SH or better (currently SN)/GF-5, in my case 5W-30, in De Nederlands 0W-20. Obviously if your car burns oil, lighter oil might not be advisable.
• Fit the best rated LRR tyres you can afford;
• Keep pressures at the correct inflation so as to get even wear across the entire width and over the entire life of the tyre. Unfortunately information about the specific tyre I use (Bridgestone Ecopia PZX) is not really transferable to overseas juridictions. The placarded pressures are 240 F/230 R kPa (35 F/33 R PSI), but I find the correct pressure to be 260 F/250 R kPa (38 F/36 R PSI);

Other than abnormal things like dragging brakes, bad wheel bearings and an older HV battery that has lost capacity, there isn't much else that makes a difference. For the older HV battery, reconditioning does help.

That's my 2¢ worth.

 

I agree completely. I have beat the EPA estimated MPG on every vehicle we have ever owned, yet I know people who cannot even get close to the EPA estimates. Having ridden with them, it's easy to understand why

 

Yeah, I can drive with someone and instantly tell what kind of mpg they are likely getting compared to EPA. I also believe the variations are greater in city driving, compared to steady speeds on the highway.

The previous owner of my Prius had Trip A at around 44 mpg over 4-5k miles. My first tank was 54 mpg.

 

Same here. Got 61 mpg coming home today (25 miles) with a depleted EV range and a warmed up engine. Speed limits from 35-50, speeds from 30-55, mostly 50-55.

We keep saying that. Maybe this should be a sticky.

 

It's easy to see why my wife gets <45 mpg while I get >55. She follows closer than I would. She speeds up in the PWR zone. I rarely do that. She often let's go of the pedal which starts regeneration while I steady my foot on the pedal to coast. In other words, she drives like a normal person while I am the jerk with too much following distance in front of me.

I am often in the left lane going 85+. If I slowed down I could get high 50's.

 

After a while one just senses that under some conditions the Prius should be running in EV mode, but it does not. I found by fiddling around with the accelerator and observed that if I fully release it for a split second and gently press it down again just to maintain my rolling speed, the computer will switch to EV mode and the car will keep on crusing. This method worked on my Gen ll and also works in my Gen lV.

Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.

 

Besides his good driving habits, I bet this is another example of avoiding the penalty of the cold engine starts (especially up north) and short trips.

When I set a forum record in my previous CMax hybrid (64.5mpg thank you very much!), I quickly found that trips over 30 minutes delivered the best results. Towards the end when I wanted to get the dang competition over with, I drove a couple of hour long trips around town to finish off the tank and was netting around 75mpg.